1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying an ultrasound image to provide examination lists including bookmarks and an ultrasound image corresponding to an examination item selected by a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses transmit an ultrasound signal toward a predetermined part of the body from a body surface of an object and obtain a tomogram of soft-tissues or an image of blood flow by using information regarding the ultrasound signal reflected by tissues of the body.
Ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses have various advantages, including a compact size, low cost, and real-time display. Also, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses have excellent stability because there is no fear of X-ray exposure, and thus, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are widely used together with various other diagnosis apparatuses, such as computerized tomography scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatuses, nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatuses, or the like.
In general, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses do not provide a function of searching for an ultrasound image. That is, when a user searches for an ultrasound image of a previously diagnosed patient, the user needs to search for the ultrasound image by checking diagnosis dates and thumbnail images one by one. Thus, it takes much time to search for the ultrasound image desired by the user.
Furthermore, current ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses do not search for a plurality of ultrasound images having common characteristics simultaneously, and do not provide users with comparison data of the plurality of ultrasound images. That is, if a patient undergoes various examinations during a predetermined period of time like determining growth progress of an embryo or a prognosis of a lesion, current ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses need to inconveniently search for and compare and analyze images having a specific lesion or clinical significance from all stored image lists.